Charles, what's up, my brother? How are you, man? I'm doing great. What's your fucking podcast called? It's called Literally with Rob Lowe. Hey, it's Rob, welcome to literally with me. I'm so excited to have my man, Charles Barkley, I mean. It's really just saying the name Charles Barkley is like seeing a dolphin in the wild, it just releases a good feeling in your body. I mean, who doesn't love Charles Barkley and for good reason?

I mean, he's hollering us. His insight, which I think you will find to be pretty extraordinary, is amazing. And he's so damn entertaining. And he's in the Basketball Hall of Fame and he's the round mound of rebound.

Come on. He's the man. So here we go with Charles Barkley.

You got to download a man. You got you got to hear the one I did with magic.

That was we had magic only two weeks ago and already got one called the steam room. No way. Yeah. And we actually we had our best one last week. We had the Bouchon. No way. Oh yeah. He was amazing. I mean, he answered every question that any person like a layman would want to know without, you know, I mean, we just try to have fun. We had magic on a couple of weeks ago.

He was awesome.

Well, first of all, give me give me a flashy headline. What do I what do I need to know? He just talked about, you know, but there's this bullshit about different types of blood. Makes you you know, it really help where he talks. Yeah.

That is a true fact. Different types of blood makes you not immune, but like, it's a whole lot of heart, a chance of you getting it.

That's funny. My wife was just telling me this and I was like, I don't know if I believe that. Yeah, he said it. Then I ask him goes, we had one of our reporters die like two weeks ago. And we had like one of my high school teammates die like the week of Christmas of Kobe. And I says, why is it that some people just get a cold and some people are like dead? He says, I'll be honest with you, Charles, we have zero idea.

I mean, he was really good. It was like he didn't give us he just said, hey, we don't know a lot about this thing. But just just, you know, because I can say you're not going to get access to somebody that amazing and brilliant that you can just ask him anything. And he was just a fabulous guy. That's so great. Magic and magic was great the week before that, too. He's so funny. I mean, we got, you know, because you and I and Magic were of that.

People don't know like how like close isn't the right word, but like how much we all were in each other's lives because the stars, the league and I was always around like, you know, doing all of it.

I mean, I just saw this documentary on the Dream Team. Is that a documentary or is that I'm just coming to see it.

You just coming to see it? It's been out for a while. It's pretty awesome. Oh, my God. Is it good? It's so good. First of all, do you believe that that Chuck Daly threw that first game against college kids?

We talk first of all, I worked with Grant Hill and see where they talk so much shit about it every year. They'd like, you know, dream team only lost one game. I saw first of all, we didn't lose the game. Chuck stopped it after we started getting serious and got it back down to like two points. You call it a game, which was really awesome on took part, man. He was he was great. He was great with his suits and he looked like he was out of The Sopranos.

I man, he was him, him, Pat Riley. They wanted to be the best dressed guy in the building every single night. I mean, it was I mean, they took great pride at it. We had a slick look with Chuck man. They used to call him Betty Rich. That was the Pistons gave him that nickname, Betty Rich, because he was like, he want to be pretty, pretty rich. Dude, it was also Daddy Rich.

It's such a good and I always liked how Riley never you know, he famous. He's do that crouch. Oh yeah. He do like the famous crouch with the rolled up paper.

Like he'd pose like like he's just off the cover of GQ.

Yeah. Does those were those were the days that dream team thing was that documentary.

If you guys Lissa's haven't looked at it, it's, it's just fantastic.

I mean I love the part where Coach K. Bobby Hurley is interviewed and Bobby Hurley is like, yeah, it was amazing. We were just flowing, we couldn't be stopped.

And it cuts to coach because there are some people who believe in the Easter Bunny and who believe in Santa Claus.

And now that they're older, I'm sorry to tell them the game was thrown is so funny because like all these kids were like high school and high school seniors and freshmen, and we were just screwing around for like the first 30 minutes. And then they're like, they're up. And then all of a sudden, like, yeah, we've got to stop this right now, and then we just started just kicking their ass, just kicking and then just that's enough for today.

Oh ho ho ho ho. No, I mean, you just have to be there. Like, all the guys went crazy because like I say, in the beginning, we were just like these guys somewhere in high school. And most of them and most of them were freshmen. So we didn't want to kill them.

And all of a sudden they got a big lead. And we started joking around the first day of practice to Rob like we hadn't even like. Godhood checked into the hotel, basically where it was, it was in Portland. No, it was in San Diego. Yeah, because I, I came up to Portland for one of the practices and that was yeah.

That was the if I remember correctly, I think that was called a Tournament of the Americas. Yes. Yeah, that's about it. Like it. So I tell you the story about Michael Jordan, who's fucking nuts, so we're playing, I think it was Puerto Rico, so me and Chuck Bailey, David Robertson and Michael wouldn't play golf that morning. So we played 18 holes in my league. Chuck, let's get back to hotel and get some rest.

And Michael's like Malmquist, another eight she took. And he's like, Mike, we got is it? Don't worry about it, coach. I'll be fine. He plays another 80. He gets to the game and we're going over the starting line. And he's like, Patrick, you got this guy Charles. You got this guy Scottie. You got this guy. This guy is not Michael. No, no, no. I got a little fucking point guard.

And Chuck, he's the point guard you have to guard. He said, no, no, that fucker said some shit about me in the newspaper. And this dude man guarded this guy like it was game fucking seven. No playoffs. I mean, after this arop after he had played 36 holes ago, I mean, he choked, as Michael said, we got to Michael look at him.

Like I said, I got the guy and chokes. OK, you got it, man. You I'm telling you, Michael Gordon, this guy like it was game seven and he was talking to him the whole time. Don't you ever fucking say anything about me again. I'm fucking Michael Jordan. Don't you ever fucking say I don't care what country you from. I mean. And we said, this dude is crazy, man. She's all right.

People have I mean, look, everybody knows the legend of Michael and how competitive he is. But when you when you witnessed it firsthand, it's unreal.

I, I was I forget if you were on this team or not when Magic used to have the big summer game for him. Oh, you're right. I think you were on it. But I played I played it.

I played it. A bunch of them. That was crazy, though, wasn't it?

Oh, I coached one year. Right. And and Michael was on my team with magic was the first time they'd ever actually played on any team of any sort. And, you know, nobody plays defense. The score was I'm not kidding. Was like two hundred and thirty to two hundred and fifty. And I'd done nothing except sit and have fun and watch and realize, wait a minute, I'm supposed to be the coach.

I should do something like call the twenty second time out. And it was like a minute left in the game, whatever.

And, and Michael is seething, seething and magic's like laughing and patting everybody and and then he realizes Michael's pissed and then we kind of gets really quiet in the huddle.

Everybody looks at Michael like what's going on in this.

You one fucking win this thing and like it never occurred to anybody to win anything. And it was OK and everybody got really serious and it became a game. Yeah, because, like, you just go to we raised a ton of money for charity. Everybody's there to have fun. But Michael's a different dude, man. I mean, the other story during the Olympics, if you remember, and they talk about a little bit, Tony, Kyouko had signed with the bulls.

We hadn't played with the bulls, but he was making more money than Scottie and Michael. Well, and so getting ready for the game, Michael and Scottie said, hey, you take him, I take him. Nobody else get to guard that fucking dude. And they talked about in a document this dude was acting like 40 points a game, had like 10. I mean, they they traumatized to do they took turns traumatized. And Tony Kyouko, it was unbelievable.

I got to go back and watch that game. You got to go. US they talk about in the documentary is like, hey, they took it personal because he was making more money than him than those two guys and they literally locked him down. It was crazy. See, this is OK.

I knew we were going to go down this rabbit hole. This is why the NBA for me was great. Then I look, I don't want to trash talk the NBA. It's pays your bills right now. It's all great.

But, dude, I don't I'm not this guy. I'm not really. I'm that's the problem. Yeah. Thank you. You know, you know, Magic and Bird are great friends now, but they wasn't great friends and they played each other. No. You know, like, you know, something innocent. I don't I never want to say anything bad about the NBA. They pay my bills. You are 100 percent correct. But sports to me or about competition going out to say, look at this guy now.

So, yeah, we're going to play today and I'm will kick your ass. Are you going to kick my ass? Are we going to shake hands after the game? But these guys out there be hugging and kissing and having fun together. I'm like, yo man, that's not what sports are. And then I want to beat the best. I don't want to be friends with the best. I mean, bragging rights. I mean, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, they want to beat each other, have bragging rights.

Me and Patrick Ewing and Carmelo wanted to be Michael, but we can have bragging rights because that's the beauty of the sports competition. So you get to break like I beat you. So it's a little bit different now.

They are all friendly now. And it's interesting to watch for me, you know, and they changed the rules. Will you if you kiss somebody is a foul. Yeah, I mean, a little peck on the cheek, two shot. That's a flagrant penalty. So it kind of. Yeah. You know, it's so funny. When we had we had Magico last week, he was talking about one of his biggest regrets. And he said when they played the Lakers for the championship and it's that famous play.

Well, Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis. Oh, yeah. And he says we had a better team. But after that foul, we spent the rest of the series trying to be tough and bullied as Celtics. And we end up losing the series because we didn't think about playing basketball. But the point I was trying to make was they didn't even talk to people out of the game back then.

I know. Yeah. You go back and look at one thing about that. Other than that, I don't know if you've seen a Jordan documentary. Oh, it's amazing. Yeah, of course it's amazing. But what I forgot about I mean, even because I mean, obviously in that same time period, how bad the Pistons beat the hell out of him. Oh, I mean, like, when I was looking at that document, like, damn, they tried to kill this dude and there was no flagrant foul.

You just got two free throws.

You got you got you got that one famous scene where Dennis Rodman just knocks Scottie into, like the period the stands. And it's like two shots. I mean, it's amazing that the lack of physicality in the game today. I mean, I did I was trying to compare. I said, oh, Steph Curry is a great player. So he's a great player. But anybody who thinks he could take those beatings that Michael Jordan took. Or we had hand chicken or that Reggie Miller had gone through screens.

Yes. So if anybody can say I don't ever want to hate on these young guys, but you have to be fair, I love Steph Curry. But if you go back and look at some of those shots Michael took against a pistol for three years before they beat him, they didn't beat him to the fourth year, but the beating he took those first three years, the quote unquote Jordan rules that that documentary made me respect Michael even more. I knew he was the greatest but to come through and you know that he don't do like they do today.

He did like I'm not going to play with no other guys. I'm just going to get well, that's what I was going to say.

He didn't go to when he when he couldn't get past the Pistons for three years, he didn't go, I know I'll go play for the Pistons or he just said, I'm OK, keep getting bigger and stronger.

And if you notice, looking at his body, he picked up probably twenty to thirty pounds of muscles between the early in his career. He put on at least thirty pounds of muscle. I mean, because at one point his body was to be good as a body can get. Yeah. I mean that's as good as a you know you can. Do you know him. Karl Malone. Oh Scottie Pippen. Those guys had three cobras in that conversation also.

And Tiger Woods and obviously LeBron to date. I mean, these guys got the most amazing bodies you ever gonna see. Who who would you least want to try to body? By the way, nobody bodies up anybody. You don't need to worry about it. Doesn't have to.

But like in if you in your prime, when you use just Mirch people with your body, whoo! Who today would you not want a part of it?

No, I don't look at it like that, you know. You know, like it'd be great to play against LeBron. Yeah. That's what I was thinking. Or Kevin Durant, even though he's a frail little thing, but he's a great kid.

I looked at Kevin Durant's ankles starting to look at Kevin Durant ankles and little kicks.

And it's amazing, you know, anything that was funny that just really came into the league, he could bench press one hundred eighty five pounds. And they're like, I think at the at the combine he did it like once and couldn't get it up. And people like this guy, we don't know if he's going to be a great player. And one the guy says, yeah, basketball is not that heavy though, which was one of the great lines of all time.

He's like, yeah, yeah. Basketball is art heavy. This is not a weightlifting contest that here I say because I know a lot of guys who are really strong can't play worth a shit. So this is not a weightlifting contest out here.

You that's the other thing is I bet you the dudes today are doing way different things with the free time than you guys do. First of all, the Internet was not about this.

I don't mean to make sound old because we're basically saying, hey, hey, listen, this is good to get old. Hey, listen, I used to be I used to make fun of old people. Now I'm one of them. It's just not funny, you know, like you, old man, you're old now. I'm like, oh, I know it happened.

But you imagine there was no Internet in those days. Now these guys are in their hotel rooms with all of that up there at their fingertips, what it must be like to be on the road now?

You know, it was crazy, you know, watching TV shows. I like when they come up with something funny, like I'm trying to be like every kid, like all the kids think. There's always been an Internet, rob. That's just shit. That's funny. Like everybody. But at a certain age, I think there was an Internet. I know none of us have cell phones, like every kid now got a cell phone. I think the first time I got to use the cell phone, it was one of those big ass block things about this long.

And you like anybody, even yours.

And was this Gordon Gecko cell phone small size of his head?

Yeah. So and I don't even remember I, I was the first time I got a cell phone. It was still pretty clunky, if I remember correctly. Yeah, but you know, the one thing about it, though, Rob, if you got any bad habits, you know, you see you can have bad habits and play sports because you get a lot of free time. And, you know, no matter what your advice is, you have to really be careful because with all that free time, if you don't keep your head on straight and on a swivel, because there's always somebody coming for you, you know, anytime you got money, people coming for you.

I mean, if I hear if I hear this phrase, I got a way we can make a lot of money. I'm like, I got a lot of money. Don't worry, Bergomi, no cheap deals. I mean, some people bring you people. We bring your bullshit deals all the time. And if I if I if I had a dollar every time, hey, I got a way we can make a lot of money. I have twice as much money as I got now.

And they're always shit ideas too, because what they really mean is, hey, I don't have any money. Let me borrow some of your money and throw it at the shit I did. It didn't go bad. You lose your money. Yeah, I know. I don't want that shit either, because, you know, I tell these young guys, man, you know, 80 percent, 80 percent of professional athletes go broke. And that's really unfortunate and sad.

I tell these young guys, hey, man, you got to learn the magic word. No, just tell them, no, you don't have to take care. Everybody in your family, you don't have to take care. All your brothers and sisters. If you want to do something nice for them, that's fine. But let me tell you something. You don't have to take care of your whole family and all everybody in the neighborhood because you're going to go broke.

No matter how much money you make, you're going to go broke if you spin it like crazy or taking care of everybody you grew up with.

So do you realize this is a really interesting because I had never thought of it in that way.

So really what it is, is in the sort of therapy recovery community, we would say they're being codependent. They can't say no, they want to be loved, they want to be liked. And that is fueling bad decisions. And it's not it's not that they're making bad investment decisions. They're codependent, trying to help people.

Yeah, but, you know, Dr. Fields says something to one time we were in Vegas one time gambling. And he always say money doesn't solve money problems. And I was like, I don't know what the hell that mean, but it sounds interesting. He was really nice and awesome. And we were sitting there playing blackjack. And I said, hey, doc, why do you say that money don't solve money problems? He's just you just can't throw money at people and think it's going to solve all their problems.

That's when people start spending more money than they got. That's. A lack of discipline, a lack of pride and self-esteem. You know how much money you got, you should stay within your means, but just give people money. It's not a good thing. It took me a long time to learn it to them, not just talk it out of my ass. I mean, I probably gave away three million dollars to family and friends that I'll never see again.

You said some very interesting. Hey, trying to get everybody to like you. That ain't gonna happen. That's not going to happen, people, because the first time you tell people no, you demand Grant Hill's mom on the second dream team, Grant Hill. Mom gave me the best advice that I'd never listen to. This is true story. We're sitting in Atlanta. I was having lunch with her and Calvin and Grant and they said, oh, well, I'll be only going to be here like a few days because Khabbaz got to get back to work.

And at that time, Grant had just signed for a hundred million dollars, that's just missing a grant, just a couple hundred million dollars, that he can't take care of his you. And he said, just sit your ass down right here and let me talk to you. Don't you start taking care of your family and friends. No. One day, never going to stop. But he said the main thing is the first time you tell them, no, they don't hate you forever, you can give them a million dollars.

And if they need another two hundred thousand, if you don't give it to them, they don't hate you forever. And and every time I see her, that's the best advice I ever got. And I did not listen to me probably another three or four years to realize that man. She's right. These people are never going to stop asking me for money and I'm going to go broke. So it was the best advice I got and I did listen, so when I got a chance to talk to these young guys, I tell them, young man, if you want to do something nice for your mom and dad or maybe but don't take care of them and just put them on the payroll and just give them unlimited access to your money.

Don't do that. Do they listen? Some of them do. You got to understand, son. Rob, you got the way it works is you got the good guy on his shoulder and then you got that other little guy on the show said, oh, don't listen to those old guys. They're just hating on you, man. We've been with you through this whole journey. So it is it is just like that. There is somebody on the other side said, oh, man, screw Charles Barkley.

We don't know what it's like to be us. We grew up together. You got to take care of us. I mean, we're your boys. We're your family, your friend. And it's exactly like that. You got two people on those shoulders and they're saying exact opposite of what you say as a young man, save your money, put your money in the bank, get you a good financial adviser. You know, Rob, like it's like when I first got there, Dr.

Jay, who was great to me, him and Moses are really amazing. And I had like a bunch of cars and Dr. Jesus, I'm going to those cars. Can you drive at the same time? I said, What do you mean?

Said, What do you mean? He says, Well, how many can you drive? At the same time? I said, only one. He said, Well, why do you need those other five?

And he's suggests people know who you are. You don't have to have a bunch of different cars or flashy cars if you're fucking Charles Barkley, everybody know you don't waste your money on this because the money you make got the last you your whole life, because no matter how great you are at your sport, you're going to be retired at 30 something.

And and hopefully you will live a long life after that. But that money you make when you play sports, it's got the last you your whole life. So they said, hey, take all of them damn cars back, you need one car. And I want to tell these guys that, hey, buy one car if you want to, that's fine. But you don't need more than two cars. You really only need one. But to have a bunch of cars are just stupid because he says to me, it's interesting.

I tell these young guys. Is not the fact that you can't afford all those cars, but all that money's sitting in your garage in five, 10, 15, 20 years, it could be worth four times that much instead of just sitting in your stupid garage.

Yeah, that's it's it's great economics that the people don't know, you know, they probably never grew up with here in that kind of stuff. Well, sort of. Guys, listen, it's a very difficult thing because. You wake up one day and you've got millions of dollars. And first of all, you like, OK, I'm 20 years old and we'll make a lot of money, make this money a long time.

So given ten thousand, twenty thousand, five thousand, three thousand to twenty three to twenty people, it don't sound like a lot. But then it starts adding up really fucking quickly. Because I tell you one thing, I always tell people they ain't got no perception of what taxes is. They like I saw you, Charles. You made six million dollars this year. I don't take six million dollars home. I mean, that's what they like when they start putting anybody, yours, mine, anybody play a sport.

When they start putting all these salaries in in a newspaper, that's when all hell started breaking loose with these guys. They're like, oh, my God, they know exactly how much every single person makes now. And that was a direct correlation when guys start beating me and my family is killing me, you know, relative to what we talked about, I talked about this dramatic the other day. No, you know, people look at how much these guys make today and no one bless them.

But I was telling the story this how old I am. Just to be honest with you, I remember the first time Magic Johnson signed for me in Dallas. We were walking around a locker room, high five on each other. We could be like we couldn't believe an NBA player made a million dollars. I mean, you know, guys now the average salary. So I think it's like eight million dollars. We got a guy making thirty forty million dollars.

Bless him, I said. But like I said, we will. And I'm with Dr. Jay Moses, Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Tonette. We're high five each other because we can't believe they don't pay a NBA player a million dollars.

And it's it's crazy. It's unreal. But like you say, it's a it's such a limited. You could blow a knee out. Who knows? I mean, I never I never I never begrudge anybody any any success on any level anywhere anyhow. Any actor, any musician, any anybody, any businessman.

I, I'm like I've never hated on people in that way.

I know. And like I say, I made more money than Dr. J. Bill Russell. Kareem, those guys obviously better players to me. And now these guys make more money than me. So that's all just, hey, inflation television networks, which I'm part of now. Yeah, but you guys are the best show on TV.

You know that. Everybody knows that you guys are I mean, between you and Shaq. And I mean there's so many things I love on your show.

Hey, you look up.

I was saying you look like you've lost weight to me. I'm trying to get there. You know, I got two new hips, so there's no reason for me to be fat and lazy anymore. I got two new hips in the last couple of years, but I've gained like seventy pounds since I retired. Well, that's all I eighty two. But I didn't want to tell you that. But so I must spend the next year and a half to two years getting myself in shape because my doctors told me, he says Chuck, you see a lot of fat young people but you don't see no fat old people soda.

So you really need to get yourself in shape.

Yeah, no, it's it's wibble. I think you look I think you look great. Is it in the seven wonders for the golf swing, the crazy Hitch's out of the golf swing it looks like from what I can see watching.

Yeah. For a limitation man nobody has worked harder. Nobody in this world has worked harder on their golf game. I met a guy named Stan Utley a couple of years ago. He's one of the best teachers in the world, one of the best guys in the world. My friends call him Mr. Miyagi. I found my Mr. Miyagi and he took the time. I mean, he worked with all the pros, but he took the time to work with me.

He's one of my neighbors in Scottsdale. And I and I had really pretty much given up thinking I was going to get better at golf. I'm not gonna lie.

And he said, hey, let me spend some time with you. And I and I kind of was reluctant to be honest with you guys. Like, Yo, man, I've tried everything. And let me tell you something. Don't fall for that bullshit. Oh, no hypnosis. I got hypnotized by do I just got a good fucking nap. I woke up with the same shitty swing. I was like, I fell for that trick. I flew to L.A. I saw this guy do a halftime show.

He had people doing crazy shit. Rob, I'm like this guy. I can fix your golf swing. You're going to wake up. You're going to be awesome. I woke up. I've got a good little ass snap out of it, but I woke up with the same shitty golf swing. But I had good hypnosis. You did? Yes, I see.

I think there's a I know that certain people are more susceptible to it than others. I know that's sort of a fact. My mom was like she could go to an auditorium full of people and whatever the person on stage was being told to do, that would happen to her in the audience. And I think I inherited it because the one well, I was hypnotized a couple of times.

The one time I really was. Remember, I was really young kid and I was getting bullied at school and I just moved to a new school and there was this one guy who just love to give me trouble and like, you know, sort of try to punch me, just all this stuff. He was huge. And so I was hypnotized to like, you know, not be scared to stand up for myself. All that stuff. The next day.

The next morning, I go to school. The guy says something to me, and I broke his nose, broke it down. You know, all bullies are punks. Are you got to do is hit him one time, Rob. Well, that's why I listen. Every bully I've ever known in my life, he like as long as you. But the one time they get their ass kicked, somebody hit them. They fold like a chair.

It's I didn't know that.

I didn't know that. And by the way, I didn't I didn't have the whatever in me to to do anything to hypnotize the hypnosis because I went from one day being terrified hypnosis next to a wammo. I like it. But you know what you should do to really fuck him up. Just sit him notes about your fucking Robillard. Now he's probably got a fucking loser life. That's what you should do. That's like like once a month. You should send him a picture like I'm fucking Rob Lowe.

I like you now. Yeah. Yeah.

Who the fuck are you now and where are you anyway as a man.

Hold that thought. We'll be right back. I got to ask you this, like I said, your show's genius, you and Shaq, all you guys, it's so good. I honestly, I'd almost rather watch the show than the games. A lot of times I know I'm not alone in that in that.

But you're like rabbit hole about San Antonio. Women in San Antonio is the greatest thing ever.

It it's just a joke. I mean, of course it's a joke, you know. But see, some people are sensitive. OK, so the reason our show works, OK, so we by the way, I had to ask you that because my boys are like, you have to ask Charles about San Antonio.

They were the ones who made me. I will, because I know it's a joke. It's funny.

So and if people of San Antonio were awesome when I went down there to hit all these girls come up who are hot and where Charles Barkley such desserts. It was really fun. You know what? I just want people to laugh and watch stupid basketball. That's what I want to do. Yeah. I was you know, I tell people we're on from eight to 2:00 in the morning. I don't want to watch basketball from eight to 2:00 in the morning.

I get paid to do it. I don't want to do it. So I just want people to watch our show and just laughter ASIO. And I'm hoping that basketball is good, but it's still eight to two in the morning they like. I can sit there and say, well, that's how you pick and roll, they're going under, they're going over their heads. And this is the zone. This is a two three zone. This is a one three one zone, like, yo, man, I don't want to hear that shit from eight to two in the morning.

I want to watch basketball. I want to laugh and I get it. People around us, a lot of credit behind us say they work their butt off. They make, they give. They make us laugh more. Do we make them laugh? But, man, I earn a kid and Shaq we earn is actually the only one who works hard. To be honest with you. He has to know all the segment stuff. Oh yeah. Right, yeah.

And me, kid and Anani, me and Shaq just go out and act like we're in a locker room with the fellas are having a good time and that's earnings. Yeah. That's what works. But like I say the key is here man. Nobody want to be served from eight to two in the morning. They want to laugh and have a good time. So sometimes I think Shaq's asleep, but that's probably because he is right. I will tell you this.

The one thing that concerned me about Shaq. Jack is the hardest working dude in the world, in the world, in the world, and he has like he has something to do every day. And I worry about him like every weekend, you know, he's a DJ on the weekend or he's shooting a commercial or he's making appearances and I'm not even exaggerating.

I'm talking about like every single week he's working. Like, sometimes we're going to be like, I got on Piers in New York, like when we get off at 2:00, he heads to the airport to fly somewhere. And and I say as a young man, first of all, you got plenty of money. You never and I tell him, I said, are you trying to recapture being Shaquille O'Neal and we're having a serious conversation. He says, What do you mean?

I says, there's nothing better than being Shaquille O'Neal. There's nothing there's nothing going to be better than being Charles Barkley that's over with. We got lucky to be that person for that short extended period of time. This thing you chasing, where you just going? If I work all the time and do all this other crap, I'll get that same type of rush. No, it doesn't work like that. Like Magic Johnson. He's a billionaire, great businessman.

You know, he really taught us brothers how to be businessmen. But I guarantee you, being Magic Johnson, the great businessman, a news great, it being Magic Johnson, the Showtime Lakers. Yeah, that is such I don't know. It's just such an amazing thing when you're really good at something and everybody's watching. And that's the only thing that concerns me about Shaquille, because, man, this dude works all the time.

And I don't know why. I mean you I mean, I want to play golf and fish. I hang on him like I want to play golf. I can play golf and fish every day. Same I do. I would I would do it one hundred percent. Same by the way. What when you fit what, a lake fish, ocean fish. Do you care.

Yeah I know I do care. I don't like the ocean fish. I've done like ok let's talk. So I hear this a lot. I don't get it like my dad. Same he does. He doesn't care about ocean fishing. My son only fishes in the ocean. He gets commercial fishers license, the whole thing. He's an expert expert expert at it and he doesn't want to go fishing. So what is it just where you grew up and what you're used to?

Well, that's a great point. Growing up in Alabama, it's not about lakes and ponds, so. Right. But I did try I don't like being on a boat out there, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. That was one time I was in the Bahamas. I think I was with the Globetrotters. We went down on vacation to have some fun and we were downstairs drinking, having a good time. But they're going to take us out, way out the.

The fish, yeah, marlin fishing, yeah. And so we come up and I can't see land, I was. Oh shit. Oh shit, I can't do this, you know, I can't, I can't. Adam, my heart started racing because I was telling myself if something go wrong, I need to be able to see land if something happens, that boat out to start swimming. I might have been going farther out in the ocean.

I don't even know. Yeah, that's why I'm like, I need to see land. I can't I can't even enjoy myself because I can't see land. And it was scary. Well, that will do it.

That's the answer. You know, you got to be on a boat to be in the ocean. Yeah, I know that too.

But I want to be able to see land wherever I met. Brother, I need to go because I know listen, well, I'm not a stud anymore. But back in the day I understood as I don't care how far I'm away from land, I could make it like right now I can't swim the length of a swimming pool without getting tired. But back when I was twenty something if I said land, if it was one hundred miles away, I think I can make it.

That's yeah.

Yeah. Well we got to fish. We had a fish, we got, we got a golf. We got to do it all and that's all this.

I tell you what. I would love to go golfing with you, but I tell you what, just because of you, because I got a lot of love for you. So how your flock is calling people either trying to get in touch with me, telling me I have your number, I like learn rules and calls me.

He's like, hey, Rob wants you to do is pass a course on to his podcast and then tease like, hey, do you know Rob Lowe? I see I know Rob Lowe. He's been called. And I said, we got it. Now, I've been talking to Rob. Dude, you can pick up the phone.

I didn't have it. I don't want the digits. OK, I got the digits now. OK, well, listen, I tell it like the point I was make was I'll be I will I'll take another chance on ocean fishing with you.

Well, I want to. I took up golf man. I it's the greatest thing ever in it. I it was so addicting.

When I go to sleep every single night, the last thoughts I have are about my golf swing.

Hey, let me tell you something. Golf is the only thing in my life. I got tired of playing basketball at times because you like man, I'm tired of this. I need a break. I can play golf every single day. I love to walk and then listen and we ought to there. That's the closest I will get to the locker room or locker room. Again, being out there with these three guys who are all has been just like myself and we just talk shit to each other because we can't play anything anymore but golf.

And it is nothing better than to talk about playing with old retired jock. That's all we got is the good old days. And we are all of us are good at golf couples of mediocre. Some of us are bad. But just being out there with each other walking.

I love the game between the East Coast in the West Coast. Like when I'm in Arizona, the courses are beautiful, but it's target golf. Yeah, but I but I live in Philadelphia during the summer and they got the big old trees.

It's beautiful, isn't it. Oh I love it. I love it out there. Just walking around and there's trees everywhere. There's no autographs, there's no pictures. That's just some cigar smoke and some trash talking. And you just get a four to five hour break and just have fun with the people you want to be with.

Your you're speaking my language, man, because I tell people people are nice. But when you go to the supermarket, people want to talk to you, right. When you go to the dry cleaner, people want to talk to you. You have to be on and nice all the time. I love when I can go to the golf course with my guys and like, yo man, I can relax. I can say, fuck, shit, whatever I want to.

I can call them names and don't and nobody's around to hear it and like my reported or something. So I love being with my guys on the golf course, man. It's just nothing like it.

I am one of my favorite times with Charles.

I'll never forget was we were at the at the famous the famous Lake Tahoe celebrity golf thing. You were playing in it. I was not. I was there visiting. We all got together. So this I don't know if you remember at the this is who is at the blackjack table. You, Michael Mario Lemieux. Pete Sampras. I mean, it's like like a Hall of Fame of Hall of Fame, and you get. But here's the best, though.

You guys were playing double hands, not paying any attention at all to the game because you're also playing the craps table that was right in front of you. It was epic. I could not believe what was going on. I miss Pete. Yeah, I missed Pete. Pete was Pete was a lot more fun in person than he showed on television total. I mean, he he was awesome to be around. Yeah. Why don't you why don't you play in Tahoe?

I'm going to.

Here's the thing. I stopped playing for twenty five years when I had my kids. I stopped the game. One hundred percent stopped and now we're.

Oh, what else are we going to fucking do. I know. I got to do it. I'm back man. I'm, I'm a fourteen. A legit fourteen. And so it's right. I think that's what you want. Going into a tournament feels like the perfect handicap.

I could be really helpful. Well, no, you play your own ball in all this just does no strokes in Tahoe, it's a real honor. Oh yeah, it's mano a mano. Yes, but listen, there's only three jackasses there that are trying to win a tournament, the other 60 guys just to have fun. That's the one thing about Tahoe. No one is beautiful. Yeah, this is beautiful. But for some reason, it's like the only place in the world is not hot in the middle of the summer is crazy.

Like no matter where you are at in the country is hot as hell doing a summer. Every year I've been a Tahoe and I think I just finished my twenty fifth year. Yeah, it's going to be 70 degrees a little breeze and the water is going to be perfect. That's the first thing I put on my schedule every year.

OK, I'm going to do it because here's why. What I real I was training for the AT&T and then I realized it's always going to be right in the middle of my season. Shooting nine one Lone Star. I can't do it this mid-February summer. I can do. What are the what are the what are the dates on Tahoe again.

Is this like the third week in July? Hey, what was the asshole on your show last year? You want to play golf with him? Did you watch. What was this.

What on your show you play golf this. Oh yes. All Yeah. Yeah. And he got hit by lightning. Yes, I was pissing me off. Yeah, he got hit by lightning. But you like me swing. I like watching the show. Come on, man. Come on man. I will support you. Always have. Let me tell you something. Your best work I shouldn't say that. Make it sound like you did other work.

The West Wing was one of the great shows that I've ever seen. I'm not just blowing smoke up. Yes. You know, you go back and look at all the characters. You know, I'm starting to look at a bunch of old stuff during a pandemic. Like like my new love is billions. Yeah, it's holy shit. Yeah. Like billions is my new thing now, man. I'm like I had because I'm not big on watching like series like that because, you know, I just don't have, you know, people start with a binge watch.

I'm like, yeah man. I'm like I don't think I'm a binge. As I watch, I watch a lot of golf or a lot of sports, but I'm not going to be here to watch shows.

Yeah, I'm same. I am. Thank you. That's so sweet. I appreciate it. Yeah I binge watching it for me is you know. Yeah. It's hard, it's hard.

My, my wife, my wife Cheryl loves it, the boys love it but I'm like I'm such a boring dude. It's like it's Golf Channel, you know. It used to be news that anymore.

Let me tell you something. You can't watch the news. I totally agree with you. I'm such an addict on the Golf Channel. I can know who's swinging before they put their name up there. That's how much I'm addicted to the Golf Channel. And but the thing that happened to me, the reason I lost my swing in the first place, I was taking lessons from every single Tom, Dick and Harry. Yeah. And so I started watching the Golf Channel trying to get better.

So now it's like, man, it's just fun watching golf. It's beautiful somewhere. But then, like I say, I finally found the right teacher. But man, I can watch and I'm not. Everybody knows Sergio and Tiger and Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson. I know guys. Like one hunt in the world, I'm like, oh, that's what's his name, sweetie, right? Yeah, I know, right? Yeah, the tiger is one guy I've never met.

I've never met Tiger. I'm dying to meet Tiger. He's the goat.

He's the goat of goats. I hear such and such. He's like.

He's like Michael in that. His career speaks for itself, but the stories that you hear about what a gnarly, bad ass he is are unbelievable. You know, being Tiger used to be really close. And then when that stuff happened, he disappeared. And I do agree with you, he's the goat. I just hope he's happy and at peace with itself. Yeah. You know, the one thing that I try to always instill in him is your man.

Everybody's not going to like you. The notion that everybody is going to like you, that stupid and absurd, this people, people, especially if you're successful. And now it's gotten worse because of the Internet, like every person who lives with their parents and in their basement and all day in pajamas just think they have the right to be an asshole and comment on every person's because they are too busy not doing stuff themselves. But this dude, he's he was I play our part to play golf with Tiger, probably 10 to 20 times.

And it was amazing every single time because, you know, we know, Robert, some guys hit the ball like like you'd be standing on a tee and you're like, what was that like? Tiger hit the ball. And that's your sound different. And when other guys it's like, wow. So I just hope he's at peace with himself. But I tell all these guys, man, don't ever confuse what you making people money that they like you.

This is a business arrangement. This is a they're paying you all that money so they can make more money but never confuse it with they like you. This is a business deal. That's why you have to really make a conscious effort to get rid of the people around you who don't have your best interests. You've got to you've got to really you have to really surround yourself with good people, because this thing ain't easy either. I tell people, hey, this shit ain't easy at all.

You ask anybody who's in the limelight, it looks like it's all roses. Hell, no. I think these guys I think were you and I got it got it at the right. I mean, obviously, I'm still we're both still in it. But like I think I would say I was thinking about this the other day. If you could go if you could pick one year. And go back in time and just have fun and not give a crap and just run amuck and be let your ID out and at party to like, I think it would be a year that I lived through.

I think it would be like probably 1984 or 85. And I don't want to go back to the 17th century. I don't want to go back to 1968 in some way.

Did I got it. We got it. Did it, bro. Hey, I'll take them fucking oh for the last 30 years, you know.

OK, well that's true too. Know I'm going to do something. I've had an awesome life. I you know, I'm a fat kid from Alabama who grew up to be Charles Barkley. I'll be 58 years old tomorrow. Oh, well, congrats, man. Happy birthday. Thank you, brother. I can't believe my life. Two of my brothers have passed away at a younger age, my mother and grandmother got I've got one brother left. I've exceeded all my expectations and I'm not trying to be all humble or whatever.

I'm the luckiest fucking dude in the world. I got to dribble a stupid basketball. I've been everywhere in the world almost. And now I get paid to talk about it, so. I got no. My heart is breaking now for this covid situation, I told you I lost one of our one of our guys on TV like last two weeks ago, and he was like forty five years old. And then I lost one of my high school teammates the week before Christmas.

So my my heart breaks for everybody who affected by the situation, but really breaks my heart also is all the people who lost their jobs, lost their businesses that they're never going to get back. Yeah. And so I ain't got no complaints, man. I really don't. I've been so lucky and blessed and you and I know you and exact same situation, man, because I tell people all the time, are you serious? If somebody even if I was a Carcassonne bitch in the world when I was living in those projects in Leeds, Alabama, town of a couple thousand people, if somebody told me my life 40 years, 50 years later was going to be like all the stuff I've done to my retirement, are you need to stop smoking that stuff?

Yeah, I mean, for sure. I'm like, come on, man, are you serious? I'm going to do this and this and this and this. Like, it's crazy. And like I say, I'm not trying. I really think, man, I'm so lucky and blessed that I like to say if I die tomorrow, I just need five minutes. A big fella. Thank you. This is amazing. What I have been here 58 years now, did some amazing things in my life.

I remember I got a picture on my wall, the man President Obama was standing and he said I was there interviewing for something. And he says, So you have a bit of an Oval Office. So, yeah, I go there all the time and he starts laughing.

I nobody goes in the Oval Office and he talks to me, take me in the Oval Office. And I don't even know they've taken a picture. And it take a picture of me and him standing in the Oval Office and I get it in the mail like a month later, I'm like, what the hell is this? And I called Karl and he says, I sent you that. And I said, and he put it, I guess they put it out.

And my friends were calling me like, Yo, man, this is like the coolest thing ever happened in my life. Now I want to talk about I said we live in a town of a couple thousand people. You're standing in the White House, in the Oval Office, where President Obama and you are our friend, this is and I was like, wow, that's pretty special. Yeah, I mean, it's one of my most prized possessions.

I mean, how many people get to stand in the Oval Office? That's amazing. It's amazing. And like I say, my my friends are like, wow, man, this is amazing. We're so happy for you and proud of you. But I was like, so, man, I really like I say and I look at your life. I mean, you've had an amazing career, thanks, thanks to the longevity, the way you have reinvented yourself.

So let me ask this question on your show. How much medical shit did you have to learn?

Oh, God, I well, you know, Charles, I can fake do a lot of things.

I can fake. I can be a I can be a fake doctor like man did. If something were to happen, a medical emergency, I could almost help. I could really almost do it. I can fake shoot a gun. Great. I can fit all the stuff. As an actor you learn over the years I could fake fighting. Here's a real problem. I've done nothing. But other than the time I went into hypnosis and punched a guy in the nose, the only fighting I've ever done has been on screen.

We are trained to Mr. Guy by six inches. So like if I were to get in a fight, I'd be like swinging a missing everybody on purpose.

So everything I've ever learned to do on screen is all such fake bullshit.

But that said, I have my knowledge is what's that old saying? It's it's a it's a mile wide, but it's only an inch deep.

And yeah. Because, you know, I always wonder, I mean, obviously when you doing a medical show because it like because one of my favorite show is the good doctor. Yeah. I love that show. I love the doctor. Yeah. He's on my bucket list of people. I want to meet a good actor. That guy. He's unbelievable. Yeah. You know, him and Idris Elba will be on my bucket list of people I want to meet.

I met is he's a great dude. He's so impressive. Yeah. That's the one thing about season one. Really cool thing. Like I remember the first time I met you, I'm like, no, and I'm not just saying that. Like, when you meet somebody have you seen? And it's like it's pretty cool. I mean, and I mean, that's the like the first time I met you, I'm like, damn, this is cool.

That's like the first time we were playing the Lakers. It's like, oh man, that's Jack Nicholson over there sitting beside a bench. And then I, I remember telling my friend the first time Jack Nicholson said, my name is like I call on my friend. Hey, man. Jack Nicholson. Hey, Charles Barkley. I just want to posing as Jack Nicholson knows who I am, y'all. And then Denzel would say hello to you. And that was the crazy thing about playing in L.A. You saw all the stars sitting there and they're like, you're taking like a little minute to get a get used to that.

There's Jack Nicholson right beside the bitch. Yeah, my man from Hill Street Blues. There's Denzel Washington. That's Dyan Cannon. There's Penny Marshall, who is the best Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. And you're sitting there and like, I'm a 20 something year old kid and all these guys who I'm watching in movies because lose them. I think I go to the movies.

I really miss the movies right now because I used to go to the movies. Oh, man. It sucks. It sucks. Not going to movies, but I'm a big movie buff and it just really sucks not being able to go to the movies right now. But when you played the Lakers at the forum, it was our home field advantage.

Oh, it was crazy.

You talk about the sixth man in sports or whatever. Ours was like the Screen Actors Guild showing up.

That's exactly right. When we wave our Oscars at you. Yeah. Oh. And we'll be right back after this. Hey, you know what I just found out, I don't know, Marlon Brando was from Omaha, Nebraska. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

You know, you think he's like a big New Yorker or something? Yeah, I suppose so.

I when I watch movies and when I want to learn some about somebody, I always go to the cast information. And I was watching for some reason. I've watched The Godfather one, one and two like three times in the last month because of course, as you should. As you should. Yes. And I said I want to watch Marlon Brando's from and he said, Nebraska. I'm like, are you shitting me? And it's just amazing. The people who got talent, they're everywhere.

You know, Charles left in Nebraska and they wanted to come back, but where Brando ever done so, you know, your longevity and my longevity are pretty good, man. I mean, I know I've been in this since 1984 and you're in the Hall of Fame.

I got to get there should be an acting hall of Fame. It's a bummer that I actually wanted to start an acting hall of fame. There's only four people. We have awards, but we don't have a Hall of Fame.

You have fame. I mean, it would be probably too many people, like in the Basketball Hall of Fame. There's a little over two hundred people. Wow. There's way more to two hundred actors and actresses who would be in there. That's true. I mean, there's I mean, it's just so many people who are talented.

How great would it be like because I love when Major League Baseball has the list and they go, you know, in Esquibel, he's been on this list now for eight years and he's he's going to be done or whatever, I'm saying I would be hilarious. It'd be like, well, Brad Pitt's definitely getting in, but, you know, he or whatever be like unbelievable.

Yeah. It's a I think people who can act. I think it's like somebody who can sing if you can sing, like people think they can sing, but they really can't. That's why they do karaoke, which I do. I mean, if you can fucking sing, you get paid to do it. You do karaoke. You just like to drink and sing.

So I love to I love karaoke because I love to drink.

What's a karaoke song? What you throw down like every other throwdown. What is your. Oh, Frank Sinatra. My way. OK, makes sense because I love the words because I've taken a few hits but I you know but you know, you just keep getting up man. I could, I could say I remember my first hit Rob.

So my junior and senior year in high school, my junior year, we were really pretty good and we made it to the state tournament. And we lost we lost to a better team my senior year, we were like the team I wanted to win a state championship of my high school was like my only goal in life at that time. And we were undefeated and we got upset. I was so shocked and disappointed. I kind of quit school for like a week or ten days and I flunked Spanish.

I went back. But I couldn't catch up in Spanish, so I didn't graduate, and I remember that night, it was the worst night of my life, probably to be honest with you. So in my high school, I stood next door at the baseball stadium on the top and watched all my classmates graduate. And I sit there and cry for two hours.

It was brutal. When I was sitting there for two hours just crying and nobody in the world knew I was there either. And that that broke my heart, not the march. And I remember saying to myself, Charles. It's time for you to grow up and don't be at the mercy of the rest of the world. You did this shit to yourself. And for. Five years, I was mad, along with about six years, I was mad at my dad because he he came from California to see me graduate and just read me the riot act.

And I was already down and he just crushed me, I was mad at this lady named Miss Gomez and flung me in Spanish. And I was mad at every kid who made fun of me calling me a dummy that I didn't graduate. And I used to play basketball and I was such a dick. I was angry every time I went up and down the court, I said I must stick it to my dad, every asshole who made fun of me and Mrs.

Gomes. And I was not a good dude for a long time, Rob. And then one night. I remember I spit and it got on a little girl. And I got suspended. And I remember sitting in my hotel room crying. And I as I was telling myself, man, you are such a fucking loser and. And I was saying, why did you flunk Spanish? You not Mrs. Gomes. And she says, why do you let your dad upset you that much?

And what about those other losers? You don't kick somebody when they're down. They don't call kids dumb and things like that. And I remember just sitting there crying and I said, OK, all this shit gone tonight. All this shit gone tonight, and I think it was my second year, maybe third year in the NBA, and from that point on I said I'm going to play basketball just because I'm great at it. And it really changed my life, man, because I was in a really dark place, I wasn't playing basketball to have fun.

I was just playing basketball to stick it to those three people, a bunch of people. And I had to give, like, as a person, you got to want to be successful for yourself, you don't want to be successful to stick it to other people. You want to make your family proud. You want to make your kid proud. But the most important thing you got to want to do, good for yourself. But that was a really turning point for me.

And I needed that because, man, I was playing basketball with the worst attitude. I was like, oh, no, no, no, no, man, this is for you. Everytime I grab a rebound, I want you to see me on TV kicking ass. But then I'm like, Now, man, it wasn't my fault that you flunked Spanish. It was your fault. He said, you and your dad got to bury the hatchet and you've got to get over that and say, hey, kids do stupid things.

In high school, when they were calling you dummy, when they were graduating, you did kids say stupid thing, but you got to look yourself in the mirror, says, now you know what? It's on me. And so that's that was a really big life lesson for me.

And that's why people love you, is because you're you're so honest and transparent about your growth and your journey and you're, you know, this amazing fact that you can be, you know, a Hall of Fame basketball player, but have this amazing humility.

It's let's that's that it's not just you guys are fucking funny every night on the damn show, which you are. It's it's all it's all this other stuff, man.

Yeah, but but Rob, I tell people don't. Yo, man. He's just a stupid basketball player, and I mean, it sincerely says, hey, we're not teachers, we're not firemen, we're not policemen, we're not somebody in the armed service. And now we're not these front line workers. I'm like, yo, man, you dribble a basketball and if you start thinking like. Yeah, I'm the greatest thing like now, you really good basketball player, that's it.

There's some people out who are really important and significant. And once I learn that, that's what I do, because I tell people that, hey, teacher, firemen, policemen, people in the armed service, those are heroes. The guys who won for a thousand yards dunk a basketball. And first of all, we got some amazing guys out there who can do that stuff, too. I mean, I just saw the greatest football player, maybe the greatest athlete ever.

Tom Brady winning seven Super Bowl. Yep. But and he's the he's to go. He is the good. Yeah, he is to go. But it's just football. Hey, hey. It's just football. Yeah. Well, these people out here, these front line workers are finally getting their due. Those are heroes man. I can imagine. The shit they do now can't be what they said they put up with what they exposed that literally exposed themselves to.

Oh, it's unbelievable. Yeah, I mean, it's unbelievable. So we're living in a time of real of real heroes.

We're living in the time where the real heroes aren't wearing capes and masks.

And if they're they're out there every day doing it with no record, very little recognition and all that, they could screw it up as Republicans and Democrats, these fucking idiots are screwing up our country. And I said it because they're both full of shit. Yeah. And we got to start holding our politicians accountable. Yep. They are all for this notion that you have to have a majority on every subject. It's got to be the stupidest, dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life.

You tell me you've got to get one hundred people together. It's got to be 51 to 49 on every subject. Come on, man. We got to stop holding these politicians, Democrats and Republicans, accountable, because I want you to run.

When are you going to run? You always talked about it. Yeah, I did. But I realized that No. One, they don't make any money. Yeah. And number two, they work all the time. So if you day two things don't go together, little money and working all the time and things don't go together. I know I get it.

But boy I would, I would be your I bring up my West Wing character, Sam Seaborn and I would be your speechwriter, your your whatever you needed me to be.

I tell you what, you have to do it if you ever do it. I'm just sayin.

And then I thought I've toyed with the idea of being the governor of Alabama for the last four elections. Yep. And I could have ran as a Democrat or Republican. Yeah, you could. But the more I have studied the system. The system is so broken, they don't care about these people, they don't care about these people unless I can do more. I can give more to to my charity work. So one of the things that I've been trying to do for the last of years, I've been trying to give a million dollars a year away for my charity.

So I did my high school first, then I did my college, then I did I'm doing Wounded Warriors. Yeah, I work with that, that the third grade.

So then I gave black women in Alabama a million dollars to do I.T. start ups. Wow, that's cool. I'm giving young black men an opportunity to learn to be carpenters, electricians and plumbers. And and I just did five historically black colleges the last few years. So that's my goal at this stage of my life.

Great is to give a million dollars a year away to charity. So that's the reason. But I'm only working a couple more years, Rob. I less listen. I tell people anybody working past 60 needed a better job. I'm not going to work to the day I die. I mean, I'm aware two more years I'm 60 that they can kiss my ass and find me on a golf course and a fishing pond somewhere near you. I'm not working past 60.

I love that. I, I wish I could say the same. I just know I'm just going to keep working.

I but if if I could just fish and golf with you then I would, I would rather count me out because you know, you have to ask yourself, you have to be realistic. How many more good years do you have in you, right, like the notion that you're going to be 75 and all your shit going still be working and you can start enjoying life like. Yeah, nice try. I mean, you clearly you're closer to the end than the beginning.

So I think 60 is a nice round number. And hey, give me five to seven to 10 years to travel the world. Play golf a lot. A lot. Right off into the sunset.

Now you do want to you do want to call it while you go on the golf course and still hit a driver, a respectable distance.

Yeah, I'm not at the stage where I plan old man golf yet. I hit it right down, up, down the middle like two twenty four fairway. And you hit those hybrids into pawpaws. Yeah.

We can't, we can't go there. That's, that's too humiliating. Well that's a way to humiliate like all my old football friends, you know, I played football for one day and I realized they were fucking nuts. I'm like they can barely walk. And they got all beat up by these. Yeah. They hit it. They hit it right down the middle, about two thirty. They hit every fairway. They got a bag full of woods.

They got the three wood for the firewood, the seven wood. And we have a great time out there. Well when you come to Santa Barbara next, I was great with Michael, used to do his camp out here. That was the best because the it was it was great, wasn't it? Yeah, it's the best.

But so when this is all over now we have you have my number. I have your number. I would love to. I'll take you to my club, vice versa. It's been too, too, too long.

And give Shaq a big hug for me when you see him to see my big brother in a long time. It's been a long time. No one.

You know, I got a lot of love and respect for you, man. I'm really proud of the success you had. I told you the first time I met you and I want to say this about to man to I said, you and Tom Brady, I'll put him in. I took around all the time. Every time I see him, I said, Tom, you're pretty man. And every time I see one of your commercials now, I said, Oh, that Rob Lowe, he's a pretty man.

So, man, thanks for having me on. If you ever need me again, anytime. And I would love to play golf least I told you I'll try to fit in with you. I don't know shit again.

And listen, I can do lakes with the best of them. I'll just some bass fishing to some redfish fish and go to Louisiana, do some shit.

Last time I did Jimmy Kimmel, we started talking about fishing and he says, you know, I just bought a place in Idaho. I want you to come visit me during the summer. And I told him, hey, don't be inviting black people places they're coming. Black people know never turned down an invitation to go somewhere. So Jimmy going be like, I'm probably gonna be the only black person anywhere in Idaho. I'm not sure that's what I say.

What does Jimmy Kimmel do? He'll even have to give me the dress. Everybody don't know what Jimmy Kimmel Live.

That's great. Well, you can crash my house anytime you want. Any time. This is great. I love you, man. This is so fun. I appreciate it, my brother. And let me know. I'll come. I'll come. Do you and Kenny. They'll be fine. I'll get in the steam room.

I look forward to it, my brother. You take care. You yourself. Hey, everybody. Y'all got everything you need. We're so good. OK brother. I love you back. I love you too brother. Be safe. Wow, that was. What a guy, I mean, right, I mean. If you could pick anybody to play golf with or fish with or hang with or have a beer with. I don't think anybody would top Charles.

I mean, right now, after hearing that interview, I know you agree with me, that was pretty special. OK, before I sign off today. We try a little something new, some fun over here, literally. It's called the low down the line.

Hello. You've reached literally and our low down line where you can get the lowdown on all things about me. Rob Lowe, three, two, three five seven oh. Four, five, five, one, so have at it, here's the beep. Rob Jeff calling from Northern Virginia, thank you for a fantastic podcast, you really provide a service for you. A book recommendation he recommended David Nevins, The Moon, The Balloon I've never heard of it, bought the book from Amazon UK and enjoyed literally every single page.

Just an unbelievable work of art from his childhood to Hollywood in the 30s, World War to and all the interesting stuff afterwards. In any family story you've recommended, other fantastic books would really like to know what else you'd recommend, or can you come out with a list on your show? Rob Lowe must read or your top 20. I really look forward to that. And again, just I cannot tell you what an experience I had with with the moons.

Thank you so much for everything. Well, Jeff from Northern Virginia, by the way, I love that you're from Northern Virginia. It's like you're in a civil war battalion. I love that. Thank you. I'm glad you liked Munza Balloon. It's it it, you know, was my inspiration for writing my two books.

So the Northern Virginia Civil War thing made me think of one of my favorite books, which is called The Killer Angels. And it is a book I believe it won the Pulitzer Prize. And it is sort of the definitive account of the Battle of Gettysburg. And you don't have to be a historian or a Civil War buff to read it, nor should you be. It's just the most beautifully written, emotional. Very short books I've ever read. So that's the killer angels.

Another one I am loving is I believe it's called under the Comanche Moon. And I just heard that Paul Thomas Anderson, one of my favorite directors, is has been secretly working on the movie adaptation of Under the Comanche Moon. So that is going to be one of the great movies of all time. And there you have it. Thanks. I love that. I need to do like an open book, like recommendation thing.

Oprah, I'm coming for you. This is just the first version of it. Look out. There's more to come. So I'll see you all next week. And thanks for listening to literally. You have been listening to literally with Rob Lowe, produced and engineered by me, Daventry Bryant, executive produced by Rob Lowe for low profile Adam Sachs and Jeff Ross, Team Coco and Collin Anderson and Chris Bannon at Stitcher. The supervising producer is Aaron Blair's talent producer, Jennifer Sanders.

Please write and review the show on Apple podcast and remember to subscribe on Apple podcast, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcast. This has been 18 cocoa production in association with Sketcher.